Faith in the Folds

In today’s episode I sat down with friend and former student of mine Jared Mayes. Jared has been preaching for the Leominster Church of Christ in Leominster, Massachusetts for a few years now and still remains active with the Kerusso Experience, a camp for teenagers wanting to hone their preaching skills, hosted by Harding University where Jared and I are both alumni. In the course of our conversa...

Today’s episode is part two of my interview with Dr. Dale Manor, professor emeritus of Bible and archaeology of Harding University. In the first half of our interview, which debuted about two weeks ago, we talked about Dr. Manor’s involvement in archaeology and what archaeology can and cannot tell us about the Bible. I also posed the question to Dr. Manor, “What’s one thing you wish every Christia...

Today I had the great honor of interviewing Dr. Dale Manor, Professor Emeritus of Bible and archaeology of Harding University. I first met Dr. Manor my freshman year as I took him for an Old Testament survey class. Even though the Old Testament isn’t where my own studies would eventually focus, Dr. Manor ranks among my all-time favorite professors. In addition to Dr. Manor’s teaching and preaching...

Today I sat down with Smith Hopkins. Smith and I first met in 2010 at Harding School of Theology in Memphis. He was and is a serious Bible student and I have always appreciated how he presents his ideas and handles himself even when faced with disagreement. Early in 2021 Smith stepped away from his preaching position at a suburban church in Memphis in order to begin the challenging but necessary w...

Today I sat down with my friend Garrett Best. Garrett is the preaching Minister for the Oliver Creek Church of Christ in the greater Memphis area, and he recently defended his doctoral dissertation on the book of Revelation. Had you asked Garrett a couple of years ago if he thought he would become a budding scholar on the last book of the Bible, he certainly would have told you “No way.” It was a...

Today we get to hear from Robin Gough, Associate Minister for the Fairfax Church of Christ in Fairfax, VA - just outside of Washington, D. C. Robin recently shared on social media a list of five lessons he’s learned during his nearly two decades in ministry. I thought it would be fun to dig into this list with him and gain a little bit of insight into life and ministry. I know you’ll be blessed by...

Today I sit down with Russ King, preaching minister for the Donelson Church of Christ in Nashville, TN. Russ has served churches in Florida, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and has been at Donelson--his home church--since 2011. I asked Russ about his congregation's community involvement, and we had a great time talking about the ways churches can learn how to bless their communities in Jesus's name.

Today I sit down with Dr. Allen Black. I first met Dr. Black when I took a campus visit to Harding School of Theology (then known as Harding University Graduate School of Religion, or HUGSR for short) in 2010. Dr. Black was assigned as my academic advisor, and a year into my program I became his Graduate Assistant. At the end of the 2020-2021 school year, Dr. Black retired from HST after nearly 40...

Today I had the privilege of continuing my earlier conversation with with Stephanie O’Brian, Licensed Professional Counselor and the Director of Upward Bound at Harding University. I asked her about the good things college #students can offer the church. It’s tempting for many older Christians to overlook the value of what Christian college-aged students can bring to the church. Perhaps, as Stepha...

Today's guest is Robby John, Youth Minister for the Bay Area Church of Christ in Tampa, FL. I asked Robby to share with me one or two lessons he’s learned in #ministry, and what are a few #resources he consistently uses to keep himself fresh. Robby stressed the importance of having mentoring figures in life and ministry, and he also emphasized the value of community for developing #creativity. I k...

Today I got to talk with Steve Maxwell, worship minister for the North Atlanta Church of Christ. Steve has been a good friend of mine for over ten years, and I was excited to ask him “What’s one piece of advice you’d give younger ministers?” Steve talked about the importance of taking the time to observe and understand your surroundings, not just in whatever local church a minister happens to serv...

Today I sat down with my friend Bob Turner. I first met Bob when he was a librarian at Harding School of Theology in Memphis. I loved talking with Bob about my classwork, current events, or trends in churches when we overlapped at HST. These days Bob is the Senior Minister for the Church of Christ at White Station in Memphis, and I was glad to talk with him about how we can disagree without being...

Today I talk with Mark Adams, preaching minister for the Kings Crossing Church of Christ in Corpus Christi, TX—a lifelong friend and peer-mentor. I asked Mark what’s one piece of advice he’d give young ministers, and in the course of our conversation he shared several great ideas not just for ministers but for anyone wanting to grow in #discipleship. We talked about the necessity to invest in othe...

Today I sat down with a trio of ministers who have spent years investing in Christians in college. Chris Buxton, Casey Coston, and Rusty Jordan and I talked about the spiritual challenges facing Christians in public colleges and universities—which is where these three have served collectively for several decades. We talked about how the college years are one of the most formative times of life for...

Today I got to talk with Zach Neal, Dean of Students at Harding University. I asked Zach about the spiritual challenges college students face. In the course of our conversation we kept coming back to the importance of listening and being present with others. Whether in a ministry setting like I find myself in, or in an administrative setting for Zach, the importance of genuine connection cannot be...

Today I had the privilege of talking with Stephanie O’Brian, and Licensed Professional Counselor, and the Director of Upward Bound at Harding University. I asked Stephanie about the spiritual challenges college students face, and the resulting conversation was a pretty sobering one. There was actually so much to talk about, that a little over halfway through our conversation we began to realize we...

The Bible is a hyperlinked text, pointing forward and backward in every book. Genesis begins with creation, Revelation ends with new creation. The psalms and prophets point forward to God's fulfillment of his promises, and the Gospels point backward to the promises made long ago. But what about Proverbs? In this episode we'll see wha Lady Wisdom from Proverbs tells us about Jesus.

In this episode I was able to talk with my friend and former student Matthew Love, preaching minister at the Beebe Church of Christ in central Arkansas. Matt and I discussed what he's learned and how he's grown through his years in congregational ministry.

Luke Dockery, Youth In Family Minister at the Cloverdale Church of Christ in Searcy, AR, sat down with me to talk about the disturbing trend of teenagers leaving their faith after graduating high school. Are some common youth ministry practices to blame? If so, what can be done to correct this?

What happens when our heroes become villains? What do we do when they have hurt others and deceived many? In this short reflection I share my thoughts on the reprehensible behavior of author and apologist Ravi Zacharias.

In today's episode Dr. Jim Martin, Vice President of Harding School of Theology in Memphis, TN, sits down with me to talk about the one piece of advice he would give young ministers. I loved hearing his perspective on growth and learning - and whether you're a minister or not, I hope you'll be blessed too!

I sat down with veteran minister Fate Hagood III of the Metropolitan Church of Christ in the greater Los Angeles area to ask him "What's one piece of advice you'd give young ministers?" I was blessed and challenged by what Fate had to say, and I hope you will be too!

In this inaugural episode of Faith in the Folds, I sit down with minister John Nichols to discuss what has happened in the year since destructive and deadly tornadoes swept through middle Tennessee on March 2-3, 2020.